I ran into a photographer using this Sony camera on a trip down to the lake. Sounded like F-Stop Ridge when she was firing off images. I had to ask what she was using and this is what I saw or was told.
Sony A77
Fixed Mirror
12 fps
24mp
flip up LCD display
So, this seems to be the next direction is a mirror that doesn't flip up and increases the fps phenomenally. I have heard of this fix mirror technology before, just never saw it in action.
The camera sounded like it was ripping cloth with every burst. I haven't heard any Nikon rumours on this yet, but I am sure this is all just around the corner as well.
$1700 for body an 32GB card. Very reasonably priced. Here is a link to a review:
http://www.dpreview....iews/sonyslta77
It simply doesn't end, does it!

The Sony gear that I have had the misfortune of using was horrible. The controls were totally counter intuitive, the menu system huge and baffling, auto focus on the 40mm macro lens sounded like nuts and bolts in a pepper grinder. Just awful! And my friend bought it against my advice of going Canon or Nikon because the shop assistant told her it was her best option. If it wasn't for BP I would believe that all camera shop staff are evil!
I used the thing for a good few hours and I never managed to work out how to change aperture in manual mode. I had to flick back to aperture priority to change f stop and then flick back to manual to change shutter speed and iso. Im sure it was all in the manual but surely Sony of all people should be capable of something a little more user friendly than that?!
Ahemhem, glad to have that off my chest, sorry!

Tom,
I am not a huge fan of SONY. We all have our electronic horror stories and mine is with PS3. Save it for another day.
Just to be clear, my post is meant for enlightenment only. I was blown away by the shutter speed and MP combo. Nothing more. I will never (well, for the foreseeable future) buy anything SONY again. Bloated prices and really bad customer service. No thanks.
However, this is a Harbinger of technology to come.

I can't stand the things either - I understand why Sony stopped making SLR's and went down the path of their current SLT's but they are not a first choice brand.
1. There are quite a few of their current (plus the older Minolta users) who want to upgrade to a newer camera but still want a SLR. They've had it and that's a shame as many have a bag of serious glass investment.
2. The viewfinders (A77 kind of excepted as it's not too bad) are awful....and I mean awful to use. They are grainy, have horrendous delays and blur like you wouldn't believe when the camera is in motion.
3. The control layout is haphazard and that's being kind. I know I'm a Nikon user so I'm biased towards what I know and prefer but remember I use dozen of different cameras every week so I have a good idea what works and what doesn't. Sony's are by far the worst.
4. The whole point of the translucent mirror is to make the camera fast and to make the video better - the thing is they're not the best route to HD video. Canon have it sown up with the 5d series and Nikon are going to take the rest with their new bodies.
Can't remember the last time I sold an Alpha and I can't imagine I'll sell one in the near future.

I can't stand the things either - I understand why Sony stopped making SLR's and went down the path of their current SLT's but they are not a first choice brand.
1. There are quite a few of their current (plus the older Minolta users) who want to upgrade to a newer camera but still want a SLR. They've had it and that's a shame as many have a bag of serious glass investment. 2. The viewfinders (A77 kind of excepted as it's not too bad) are awful....and I mean awful to use. They are grainy, have horrendous delays and blur like you wouldn't believe when the camera is in motion. 3. The control layout is haphazard and that's being kind. I know I'm a Nikon user so I'm biased towards what I know and prefer but remember I use dozen of different cameras every week so I have a good idea what works and what doesn't. Sony's are by far the worst. 4. The whole point of the translucent mirror is to make the camera fast and to make the video better - the thing is they're not the best route to HD video. Canon have it sown up with the 5d series and Nikon are going to take the rest with their new bodies.
Can't remember the last time I sold an Alpha and I can't imagine I'll sell one in the near future.

I half expected as much. The woman (very pleasant, both her and her friend) told me some guy in the park laughed at her gear a couple of weeks ago and she simply packed up and left. I don't agree with this, but the more arrogant snobs who frequent the parks will speak their mind, regardless of who they offend.

She was also complaining about the camera "fringing with certain lenses". I take it this must mean vignetting.

Anyway, as I said, the reason I posted was I can see some future possibilities with the technology and thought I would mention what I saw. SONY anything would be the last thing I would personally recommend to anyone, much less a camera.

Sony = evil. Remember their DRM auto-install software that they shipped with some audio CDs? Of course I never would have bought the kind of music CD on which they had installed the software but it left a bad impression and I have since never bought (knowingly) anything Sony related.
Peter

Sony = evil. Remember their DRM auto-install software that they shipped with some audio CDs? Of course I never would have bought the kind of music CD on which they had installed the software but it left a bad impression and I have since never bought (knowingly) anything Sony related.

Peter

SONY has made a lot of enemies over the years. I guess that is why they had some many financial issues a short while ago.

Thats a point DD, the NEX-7 has a better range of ISO performance even though it has the exact same sensor.
There's no mirror in the way so all the light hits the sensor....thing is I don't like the NEX range either.

Good idea Art but in a DSLR the focusing and exposure are all controlled via the mirror.... so far this method is better than using the sensor (live view) to do the focusing especially... it would be difficult to do things like tracking or picking the area you want to be in focus ,like you can do through the mirror/view finder... Live view focusing is slower.. that is why we use DSLR's for the speed and not Point & shoots. If dedicated focus points could be incorporated in the sensor without upsetting the final image this could change.... who knows what future technology produces? The Fuji X100 is another camera with a mini screen in the view finder, you can switch between the optical view and the 'live view'.
Peter

The Nikon 1 Series have hybrid AF that can switch between Phase and Contrast Detect AF as needed and do both using the main sensor - Nikon say they can focus as fast as a D3x.
Fuji offer the same with their high end compacts - not the X Series for some odd reason - where some of the sensors pixels are actually Phase Detect pick-ups meaning AF is blisteringly fast.
The reason AF in Live View is so slow on a DSLR is simply down to Nikon and Canon dragging their heels and being bl**dy minded enough to not offer what is currently available because of 'tradition' in some desperate hope that they can seem elitist. Bugs the H*ll out of me because there is no technological reason why a modern DSLR can't AF with blinding speed regardless of the viewing mode.

Robin,
You would think Nikon learned it's lesson when Canon wiped the floor with them over the last two decades for doing exactly that. Dragging your heals with hi- tech is akin to suicide. Just a matter of time as to when another player in the industry eats their lunch.